Through this procedure, Tracy had maintained a scream, but it was dampened by the sound of the shower. Renaldo rolled her over. He pulled a square rag from his pocket, balled it up, and began stuffing it into her mouth. Tracy was a quantum stronger than Christina, and she was able to resist until Renaldo straddled her and used his knees to secure her head. Then she succeeded in biting his finger, which infuriated him.

"Bitch!" he yelled. He slapped her hard, splitting her lip. She still resisted, but he was able to get the gag into her mouth and place several pieces of duct tape to hold it in place. Then he got up and stared down at the terrified teenager.

"Not bad." Renaldo commented as he took in Tracy 's nubile figure and the belly button piercing. His eyes stopped at a small tattoo of a snake just north of her mons pubis. "Already shaving your snatch, and you got a tattoo. I wonder if Mommy and Daddy know that. Aren't you a little ahead of yourself, girl?"

Renaldo reached down and hooked a hand under one of Tracy 's armpits and hoisted her roughly to her feet. She responded by bolting out of the bathroom, catching Renaldo off guard. He had to race to catch her before she got out of her bedroom.

"Not so fast, sister," Renaldo snarled, yanking her around to face him. "If you're smart and cooperative, you won't be hurt. If you're not, I guarantee you'll be a very sorry girl. Read me?"

Tracy stared defiantly back at her attacker with fiery eyes.

"Feisty thing, huh?" Renaldo questioned derisively. He glanced down at her breasts, which he found considerably more impressive with her upright posture. "And sexy, too. How many snakes have you had in that snake den of yours? I bet a lot more than your parents think, huh?" He nodded his head knowingly.

Tracy continued to glare at Renaldo, with her chest heaving from her adrenaline rush.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen here. You and me are going to march downstairs to the family room for a family reunion with your sisters. We'll tape you girls together so you'll be one big happy family unit. Then I'm going to tell you a few things I want you to tell your parents. Then we're out of here. Does that sound like a plan?"

With a push, Renaldo directed Tracy out into the hall. He still had ahold of her arm just above the elbow. When they came to the stairs, he urged her to descend.

In the family room, Manuel was dutifully standing over Meghan and Christina. Meghan was silently crying, as evidenced by her tears and the intermittent trembling of her torso. Christina was still wide-eyed with terror.

"Nice work," Manuel said as the naked Tracy was led over to the couch. He couldn't help eyeing Tracy as Renaldo had done.

"Sit the two up facing either end of the sofa," Renaldo commanded.

Manuel yanked the two preteens up and rotated them as Renaldo had directed.

Renaldo directed Tracy to sit on the sofa's edge with her back to her sisters. When she was in place, he wound tape around all three. When he was finished, he straightened up and checked his handiwork. Satisfied, he handed the tape to Manuel and told him to gather up their stuff.

"Listen, sweeties," Renaldo said to the girls, but mostly to Tracy, with whom he made direct eye contact. "We want you to deliver a message to your parents. But first let me ask you something. Do you know what an autopsy is? Just nod your head if you do!"

Tracy didn't move. She didn't even blink.

Renaldo slapped her again, further opening her split lip. A trickle of blood ran down her chin.

"I'm not going to ask you again. Nod or shake your head! Whatever is appropriate."

Tracy nodded quickly.

"Good!" Renaldo said. "Here's the message for Mommy and Daddy. No autopsy! You got that? No autopsy! Nod your head if you got it."

Tracy dutifully nodded.

"Okay. That's the main message: no autopsy. I could write it for you, but I don't think that's wise under the circumstances. Tell them if they ignore this warning that we will be back to visit you kids, and it won't be pretty. You know what I'm saying? It will be bad, not like this time, because this is just a warning. It might not be tomorrow and maybe not next week, but sometime. Now, I want to know you understand the message so far. Nod your head if you do."

Tracy nodded. Some of the brashness had disappeared from her eyes.

"And the last part of the message is just as simple. Tell your parents to keep the police out of this affair. It's just between us and your parents. If they go to the police, I'm going to have to visit you again somewhere, someplace. It's pretty clear. Are we on the same page about all this?"

Tracy nodded again. It was now obvious she was terrified just like her younger sisters.

"Great," Renaldo said. Then he reached out with his gloved finger and tweaked one of Tracy 's nipples. "Nice boobs. Tell your parents not to make me come back."

After a quick visual sweep around the room, Renaldo motioned for Manuel. As quickly as they had come in, they left, picking up the canvas bag on the way and taking off their masks and gloves. They closed the door behind them and followed the same route back to the street. En route to the car, they passed a couple of kids on bikes, but it didn't bother them. They were just two handymen returning from having done some work. Back in the car, Renaldo looked at his watch. The whole exercise had taken less than twenty minutes, which wasn't bad for a thousand bucks.

Randolph took longer than usual to get up from the defense table, organize his notes, and situate himself behind the podium. Even when ostensibly prepared, he eyed Leona Rattner long enough for her to briefly look away. Randolph could be intimidating with his powerful, paternal aura.

"Miss Rattner," Randolph said in his refined voice. "How would you describe your choice of apparel at the office?"

Leona laughed uncertainly. " Normal, I guess. Why?"

"Would you label your usual attire conservative or modest?"

"I never thought about it."

"Did Marlene Richardt, who is the de facto office manager, ever suggest your attire was inappropriate?"

For a moment, Leona looked like the fox caught in the hen-house. Her eyes darted from Tony to the judge and then back to Randolph.

"She said something to that effect."

"How many times?"

"How should I know? A number of times."

"Did she use terms like 'sexy' or 'provocative'?"

"I suppose."

"Miss Rattner, you testified that Dr. Bowman was giving you 'the eye' about a year ago."

"That's correct."

"Do you think it might have had anything to do with your choice of apparel?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You testified that at first it made you embarrassed, because he was married."

"That's true."

"But a year ago, Dr. Bowman was officially separated from his wife. There were strains in his marriage that were being addressed. Wasn't that common knowledge in the office?"

"Maybe it was."

"Could it be that you were giving Dr. Bowman the eye rather than vice versa?"

"Maybe subconsciously. He's a good-looking guy."

"Did it ever go through your mind that Dr. Bowman might be susceptible to provocative clothing, considering he was living alone?"

"I never thought about it."

"Miss Rattner, you testified that on September eighth, 2005, you were living in Dr. Bowman's Boston apartment."

"I was.

"How did that happen? Did Dr. Bowman invite you to move in?"

"Not exactly."

"Did your moving in ever come up in a conversation so that the benefits and the disadvantages could be discussed?"